Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,676 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Belden were worth $2,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Belden in the third quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Belden by 72.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Belden in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Belden by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Belden from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Belden from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.75.

Insider Activity at Belden

In related news, CAO Doug Zink sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.82, for a total transaction of $386,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $855,751.26. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Belden Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDC opened at $121.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $118.35 and a 200 day moving average of $111.16. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 1.09. Belden Inc. has a one year low of $72.91 and a one year high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.09. Belden had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 20.55%. The firm had revenue of $654.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Belden Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Belden’s payout ratio is 4.65%.

Belden Company Profile

Belden Inc designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of signal transmission solutions for mission critical applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Solutions and Industrial Automation Solutions. The Enterprise Solutions segment offers copper cable and connectivity solutions, fiber cable and connectivity solutions, interconnect panels, racks and enclosures, and signal extension and matrix switching systems for use in applications, such as local area networks, data centers, access control, 5G, fiber to the home, and building automation.